•University and government researchers applyfor grants form industry, foundations, or thegovernment to pay for the research they do.

•The data/results that come out of thesefunded research projects are shared throughscientific journal magazines articles or atscientific meetings.

•This type of open sharing of scientificinformation is made available for “the publicgood.”

Example of “Public Good”

Dr. CarolChihara, Professor of Biology at the Universityof San Francisco; experimented for several years tounderstand how organisms develop from an embryointo an adult. They used fruit flies in their experimentsbecause fly development has some parallels withhuman development. This research lead to newdiscoveries in adult male fertility.

By publicly describing their results, this invites otherscientists from around the world to scrutinize theirwork and design further experiments to find out evenmore about development(other whatever topic thescientists is studying).

Topics being Studied around the world

•Universities and government labs arecurrently working on:

•HIV (human immunodeficiency syndrome,AIDS)

•Malaria,

•Diabetes,

•As well as improvement in crop yields.

Example

•The Gladstone Institute at the University of California,San Francisco-is an academic research facility focusedon studyingviruses

and viral therapies.

–Virus: a particle containing a protein coat andgenetic material (DNA or RNA) that is not living andrequires a host to replicate.

•Scientists conducting pure orapplied sciencecan usethe results to further research or to provideinformation for the development of new products.

–Applied Science: the practice of utilizing scientificknowledge for practical purposes, including themanufacture of a product.

NIH & CDC

•Researchers at US government laboratories,such as theNational Institute of Health(NIH)and theCenters for Disease Control andPrevention(CDC), along with researchers atmany universities, use biotechnology researchtechniques when looking for treatments formajor diseases, including heart disease,cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease.

More Biotechnology Applications

•Forensic Scientists-most work in policedepartments. They use biotechnology labprocedures, such as DNA fingerprinting(identification of a person’s unique DNA code),when they analyze evidence from a crimescene.

–Example: The OJ Simpson trial, in which thefamous exfootball player was accused ofmurdering his exwife and her companion,demonstrated how DNA from blood cells could beused (or, some say, misused) as evidence in acriminal case.

DNAFingerprinting

•This is an example of theresults of a DNAfingerprinting procedure(Gel Electrophoresis)

•Take a look at the bandingpatterns.

•Can you tell which suspectwas at the crime scene?

More Biotechnology Applications(Continued)

Ecologists-may use similar DNA fingerprintingtechniques to identify plant or animal breedingpartners to control parentage for protected orendangered species.

Example: Whooping cranes are severely endangeredbirds. In 2000, the total North American population ofwhooping cranes was estimated at only 30! Due tointense breeding programs inWisconsin and Canada,including DNA testing of all the remaining whoopingcranes, the population had increased to almost 200birds by 2005. results of DNA tests help scientistsdetermine which birds should be allowed to breed toincreasegenetic diversity*in the population.

More Biotechnology Applications(Continued)

•Increasinggenetic diversity*through selectivebreeding is important because it increases thechances of the whole species survival.

•Genetic Diversity*-Differences in the DNAcode from organism to organism.

Examples: Rhinoceros horns, bear gall bladders, and exoticbirds from South Pacific, all considered “black market”items, have been identified using DNA fingerprintingstudies similar to those used in human DNA studies.

Evolutionary biologists use molecules of organisms toillustrate common ancestry among various organisms.

Example: After DNA and protein analysis , the red panda ofChina was shown to be more closely related to the raccoonthan to the well known black-and-white panda “bear.”